Previous studies of the source regions of solar wind sampled by ACE and Ulysses showed that some solar wind originates from open flux areas in active regions. These sources were labeledactive region sourceswhen there was no corresponding coronal hole in the He 10830 Å synoptic maps. Here, we present results on an investigation of the magnetic topology of these active region sources and a search for corresponding features in EUV and soft X‐ray images. In most, but not all, cases, a dark hole or lane is seen in the EUV and SXT image as for familiar coronal hole sources. However, in one case, the soft‐X ray images and the magnetic model showed a coronal structure quite different from typical coronal hole structure. Using ACE data, we also find that the solar wind from these active region sources generally has a higher Oxygen charge state than wind from the Helium‐10830Å coronal hole sources, indicating a hotter source region, consistent with the active region source interpretation. © 2003 American Institute of Physics